


Caught In A Flaming Web

by fischyparkvr



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: BAMF Peter Parker, Bisexual Peter Parker, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Peter Parker, Pansexual Johnny storm, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Precious Peter Parker, Sassy Peter Parker, Slow Burn, Teenage Peter Parker/Teenage Johnny Storm, he/they Peter Parker
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:27:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23726797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fischyparkvr/pseuds/fischyparkvr
Summary: at·trac·tion/əˈtrakSH(ə)n/nouna quality or feature that evokes interest, liking, or desire.Peter peeked his head out of the med bay, and looked out into the hall to see if anybody was there. When he didn’t see anyone, he nodded to himself and walked down the hall, but when he turned the corner he collided right into someone, who’s hands went right to his chest to push him out of the way.“Hey, watch it asshole!” The guy said, and Peter glared at him, only now realizing the guy looked familiar. Blue eyes, blonde hair, sharp jaw, fancy and probably really expensive clothes? Oh yeah, he knew that face. Hell, everybody knew that face.The face that belonged to none other than Johnny Storm.
Relationships: Fantastic Four (Team) & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Johnny Storm, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker/Johnny Storm
Comments: 13
Kudos: 247





	1. Pilot

Peter loved the city.

He loved how easy it was to lose himself in its noise. The sound of cars honking and beeping at each other, the smell of fresh hot dogs and ice cream in the afternoon, the lights in the nighttime that you could just watch for hours, as if they were the stars. Peter loved to find the tallest building he could find, and just sit for hours, taking it all in. He’d let his feet dangle over the edge, and he’d just fall back on his back and stare up at the sky, watching as clouds pass by.

Now, Peter was currently in his Spider-man getup, perched on top of a lamp post, late at night. He was watching an old rundown building just outside the city. It was a Friday night and Mr. Stark had _finally_ agreed to bring him on a mission.

“So, who are these guys exactly, Mr. Stark?” Spider-man asked silently, flexing his fingers that were beginning to ache.

The former-Avenger replied almost immediately. “Well, all I know is that they were some of Toomes’ buyers. Don’t have names, alibis, nothing. “ Peter’s senses flared, and his entire body tensed at the mention of the old man.

He looked around quickly, but found no one. Suddenly his senses went wild and he heard a shot ring out. He felt a sharp sting in his abdomen, and then he was falling backward off of the pole. He heard Mr. Stark’s voice distant in his ear.

“Kid? Kid what the hell was that? _Please_ tell me that wasn’t a gun going off.” He said, and Peter almost thought he heard his mentor’s voice crack. He heard a repulser fire out, so Peter assumed Mr. Stark had been attacked too. 

Except _his_ suit was bulletproof.

Peter’s, on the other hand? Nope.

“Damnit, say something kid!”

“Uhm-” Peter groaned, sitting up. “-it wasn’t?”

“Liar- alright that’s it, i’m coming to you.” Peter heard the sound of repulsors, but also saw the guy who had shot him begin to run. So, while on an adrenaline high, he decided to do the opposite of what a sane person would do. He gave chase.

Peter shot a web at a stop light and swung forward at the guy, knocking him to the ground with his feet, and webbed the gun away from him. The adrenaline rush had finally begun to leave his system, and the pain of being shot in the stomach started to surface.

Peter pressed a hand tight against the wound, and then Iron Man was 3 feet away from him, arm raised at the guy who shot the gun, and Peter shot another web at the guy to stick him to the concrete.

“Yeah, stay down.” Mr. Stark said, arm raised, hand repulsor glowing.

“Damnit kid,” Tony sighed. “Whaddya say we get you to the Tower, yeah?”

The Tower? Didn’t he sell the Tower?

Apparently not. And apparently, Peter had said that out loud, too. “Yeah well, nobody wanted it so the government practically threw it right back at me.” Mr. Stark shrugged, before picking up the masked vigilante and flew back to the Tower.

  
  
  
  
  


They arrived at the Tower in record time, and Mr Stark raced toward the med bay. Peter had a hand on his stomach, clutching at the hole where he’d been shot. Ugh, Mr. Stark was going to kill him for ruining the suit. They just passed the lobby when Peter staggered and fell. He hissed in pain, and he heard the sound of gears whirring, and Tony Stark was there, pulling him back up. Thankfully, his mask was still on.

He could hear Mr. Stark’s heart beating a mile and hour. “Nope. Not dying tonight, kid, you got that?” Peter only mumbled, eyes half open, hand still on his stomach. He felt his legs get weak again, and Mr. Stark was practically pulling both their weight. 

“S’rry I r’ned the s’uit.” Peter slurred, and Mr. Stark blinked.

“You’re bleeding out in my lobby and you’re worried about the damn _suit?!”_ Mr. Stark sighed. “Only you, kid. Only you.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Peter woke up in a bed. He squinted his eyes at the light, grunting. He heard a voice, and then the lights were dimmed low. Low enough for Peter to not have a sensory overload.

“Hey kid, you with us?” Mr. Stark?

“Uhm-” Peter rasped. “I think so?”

Dr. Cho raised a brow, which said ‘really?’, and then Peter realized his mask was off, and he was in a hospital gown.

“Uh.” Peter gulped. Mr. Stark rolled his eyes.

“Hey, it’s not _my_ fault you got yourself shot. Don’t do that again, that wasn’t nice. Plus, Cho was the only one on duty so it’s not like every doctor and nurse on the planet knows your identity.”

“Ha.” Peter yawned. “Could I maybe uhm- get some clothes?”

“Right, yeah, sorry, Pete.” Mr. Stark said. “You need anything else? Hm? Water? McDonalds?”

Peter perked up at the mention of McDonalds. “I’ll have some McDonalds, yeah.” He replied, grabbing the grey t-shirt and joggers that Dr. Cho handed him.

Both adults left the room, and Peter sat up, checking the wound. It had a few small stitches, and it seemed to already be healing fairly quickly. Peter let out a sigh of relief. He hoped it’d be healed completely by Monday. God, he _hated_ the swim unit. _So_ much. They don’t even get enough time to change, so how should they expect to be dressed and ready for the next class all under _three minutes?!_

Story for another time.

Peter peeked his head out of the med bay, and looked out into the hall to see if anybody was there. When he didn’t see anyone, he nodded to himself and walked down the hall, but when he turned the corner he collided right into someone, who’s hands went right to his chest to push him out of the way.

“Hey, watch it asshole!” The guy said, and Peter glared at him, only now realizing the guy looked familiar. Blue eyes, blonde hair, sharp jaw, fancy and probably really expensive clothes? Oh yeah, he knew that face. Hell, _everybody_ knew that face.

The face that belonged to none other than Johnny Storm.

But that didn’t excuse the fact that he was a total _dick._

_“I_ should watch it?” Peter scoffed. _“You’re_ the one that bumped into _me. You_ should watch it. _”_ Johnny did a complete double take, but still smirked.

“Whatever. How are you even in this part of the tower, guy who’s name I don’t know?”

“First off, it’s Peter. Peter Parker. And secondly, I’m a intern.” Peter said, crossing his arms. “There was an accident in the lab. That’s why I'm here. Question is, why are _you_ here?”

“Rest of the team dragged me along. They’re busy nerding out with Stark. So, Mr. ‘Peter Parker the intern’, could you get me a coffee?” Peter glared at him.

“I’m _kidding!”_ Peter still glared. “Alright, but just for the hell of it, care to show me around? It’ll be worth it~!” He raised a brow in a flirty way.

Peter rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “You’re not my boss.” He replied, and walked away.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


About an hour later, Mr. Stark and the Fantastic Four came into the living area to find Peter watching ‘The Office’ on their flat screen TV.

“This must be the intern you told us about?” Susan Storm said, making Peter turn around.

He paused the TV and gasped, mouth gaping.

“You’re- you’re the-”

“The Fantastic Four? Yeah, we get that a lot.” The Thing said.

Mr. Stark cleared his throat, and started to speak. “Peter, that’s Susan Storm, Ben Grimm, and-” He started, but Peter was too busy fanboying to care.

“No way! _You’re Reed Richards!”_ Peter exclaimed, and Mr. Stark let out an ‘oh no’ sigh. “I’ve like, read all about your work and your theories and I read about the crash that gave you guys your powers and how-” 

Mr. Stark put a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Take a breath, kid, jeez. Sorry, he’s a nerd.” Johnny--who also happened to be there--chuckled, and Peter mentally rolled his eyes.

Reed chuckled. “Well, technically, I think we’re _all_ nerds, Stark. That includes you.” Mr. Stark waved him off.

“I prefer genius, billionaire, and philanthropist.”

“Nerds!” Johnny spoke up, and Sue rolled her eyes, and The Thing—wait, or should Peter call him Ben Grimm?—gave Johnny an amused look.

“Hey kid, Happy’s gonna take you home in a few minutes so, go get your _stuff.”_ Mr. Stark said, emphasizing on the word _‘stuff.’_

“Okay! Bye Mr. Richards. Bye Mr. Grimm! Bye Ms. Storm!” Peter waved, and bounded off. Johnny threw his arms up at being left out, feeling offended.

  
  
  
  
  


_“Dude, you mean to tell me you met the Fantastic Four?!”_ Ned exclaimed over the phone, and Peter nodded, chuckling.

“Yeah. It was really cool. Well, kind of.”

_“‘Kind of’?! Peter, you got to meet Johnny Storm!”_ Peter scoffed. He was pretty sure he heard Ned’s loud gasp over the line.

_“What? What was that scoff for? Why don’t you like Johnny Storm? I mean, he’s literally-”_

“-if you say hot I _will_ hang up on you and de-best friend you.” Peter said flatly.

Why did Peter hate Johnny Storm? Well, there were plenty of reasons. From what Peter’s seen and heard, he flirts with everyone his age, uses his popularity and powers to get friends, and takes advantage of his fame. Need he go on?

“I just- I just think that he takes advantage of being a superhero. He uses that label and gets all the positivity because of it. I mean, the whole _team_ gets praised for it, but at least the other three don’t overuse their fame to get popular. And yet I do everything they do and what do I get? I get called a menace.”

He heard a short silence before Ned said something. _“Okay, Peter I see where you’re coming from but give him a chance, y’know? Maybe he’s cooler than you think!”_

Peter let out a sigh. “We’ll see about that. Anyway, I gotta go, man. Happy’s gotta take me home.” He heard Ned say his goodbyes and he ended the call.

At least he didn’t have to see Johnny Storm anymore. It’s not like he’ll just keep showing up in his life, right?


	2. One Problem At A Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter really needs to fix this bad luck he's got.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all so much for the kudos! seriously, I really doubted that anyone would like or read my fics, so all the attention really hits different

Peter really needed to stop jinxing himself.

  
  


It was a somewhat-normal Sunday afternoon and Peter had just left the apartment as Spider-man. He was sitting atop a roof, feet dangling. His mask was rolled up to his nose.

“Hey Happy, here’s my report for today so far! I stopped a bank robbery, helped that nice churro lady across the street and she gave me one! I like that lady, she’s nice to me. Anyway, I was wondering if I could come over to the Tower tomorrow to work on the suit? Anyway, I should probably get going. It’s uh, Peter. Parker.”

He put his phone down and sighed, taking a bite out of his churro. His spidey senses went off, and he looked up in time to see a big, orange figure of flames stop midair just a few feet ahead of him.

Oh, great. Thanks again, Parker Luck.

“Is that who I think it is? Queens’  _ spider-menace?” _ The loud booming voice called out, almost blinding Peter with how damn bright he was. Literally.

“Gee, thanks. Great to know that even the Fantastic Four think i’m just a wild vigilante.” He said flatly.

“What? No, that’s not- I was kidding!” The Torch said, and Peter was sure he heard a stutter. Like, 90%. He didn’t think anything of it, though. “If I'm being honest, I was actually like, a  _ really  _ big fan of yours before I got my powers. Not that i’m not a fan  _ anymore,  _ I still am! Obviously. Besides, literally everybody knows the Daily Bugle is full of shit, so..”

Peter scoffed. “Well, I knew you were a talker, but wow. This just takes the cake, Storm.”

Johnny’s head tilted—at least, Peter thinks it did. He doesn't know, it was kinda hard to tell with, y’know, all the  _ fire  _ in the way. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it.” Peter said sarcastically, and pulled his mask down and swung off before the other hero could reply.

  
  
  
  
  


“Hey Mr. Stark!” Peter called out, walking into the lab. Happy had finally—much to Peter’s surprise—gotten back to him on the coming-over-to-the-tower conversation from the other day. The said conversation that was usually one sided, mind you.

“Kid! You finally halled your ass over here. Great. Now hall it over a few more inches, because I’ve already got some upgrade ideas for ya!”

Peter’s eyes widened at that, and he quickly scooted over to where Mr. Stark was working. “Oh, cool- wait, really? What kind of updates?”

The former-Avenger started to speak, sitting up straight. “Well, so I’ve been working on a new Iron Man suit with nano-tech, you know what nano-tech is right?” Peter nodded. “Well, I actually got it to work, and I recently found out I have a small load of vibranium somewhere in the tower, so I figured-”

Peter gasped. “-you’re giving me an upgraded suit?!” Mr. Stark raised a brow at him. “Oh- I mean, uh, sorry.” He chuckled nervously.

The billionaire waved him off.. “Nah, it’s fine. Besides, you are correct.”

“Really?!” Peter exclaimed, failing to contain his excitement. “I mean- uh, cool! When can we uh, when can we start?”

“Right now, obviously.” Mr. Stark said, throwing Peter a pair of lab goggles. “Put those on.”

“Awesome.” Peter whispered, and put the goggles on, pushing his hair out of the way.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Mr. Stark threw his arms up in the air. “That’s it, i’m done. I give up. I need more coffee.”

Peter struggled to hide a chuckle. “It’s not that bad, Mr. Stark-”

_ “Yes it is!  _ Unless you want surgery and have a metal plate on your chest! Bit obvious when you have gym class, don’t you think?” Peter shook his head.

“No, not that. I mean, maybe you’re just looking at it the wrong way? Maybe instead of making it like  _ your _ emblem, we make it smaller? Like-” Peter shuffled around the lab, grabbing a marker and walked over to the whiteboard. He started to sketch a spider with strings attached to what should be the body of the spider, and another smaller one. “-like a bracelet, or a necklace.”

“Huh.” Mr. Stark put on a thinking face. “Y’know, that’s not bad. And it might just work, too. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Maybe it’s because you’re running on 45 minutes of sleep and coffee.” A voice called out from behind the two, causing them to turn around.

“Richards.”

“Stark.”

“Peter.”

Both men turned.

Peter stared at the both of them. “What? You were saying names and I was feeling left out.”

Mr. Stark rolled his eyes, suppressing a smirk.

“You’ve got a smart kid there, Tony. I’ll give you that.” Mr. Richards said, going over to shake Peter’s hand. “Nice to properly meet you, Mr. Parker.” Peter immediately took it.

“Uh- thank you, sir.” He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “Uh, but it- it’s just Peter.”

Mr. Richards shrugged. “Well, then you should call me Reed.”

“Oh! Uh, okay Reed.” Peter shuffled awkwardly. Mr. Stark fake-gasped.

“Wh- oh, so you’re on a first name basis with  _ him _ now, and  _ still _ not me? That’s it, Parker. I’m disowning you.”

Peter’s brows furrowed. “But you’re not my-”

Mr. Stark shrugged. “Well then i’ll adopt you.  _ Then  _ I'll disown you.” He said seriously.

“I don’t think May would let you.” Peter said, and Mr. Stark was already back to working on the new suit. “Good point. She scares me.”

Peter shrugged. “She’s italian, so..”

“Yeah, well technically, so are you. You’re not scary. You’re a baby.”

_ “Hey!” _

“Huh.” Mr. Stark looked around. “Where’d Mr. Fantastico go?” He shrugged, going back to his work, as did Peter, who was working on the design for the emblem the suit would be stored in. Sure, he could make it into a bracelet, but then it could easily slip off of his wrist. Maybe the necklace idea would work better. The emblem would be near his chest, which would work for a  _ very _ dramatic and badass suit up moment, he has to admit. Also, it wouldn’t be too suspicious seeing as if anybody asked, he could put it off as Spider-man merch.

It is still _so_ crazy that he has his own merch!

He finished the sketch, and circled it, proud of his work. Now, he just needed to figure out how to get the suit to actually  _ physically  _ get into the necklace.

One problem at a time, Parker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for such a late update: online school work sucks :/


	3. A Slight Misunderstanding

Peter groaned.

The loud beeping of his alarm rang in his ears, and he swung his arm at his bedside table, his hand slamming down on the alarm.

“Damnit, not again..” He grunted, realizing he had shattered yet  _ another  _ alarm clock. He’d use his phone, he really could, but the thing is, he doesn’t really want to end up breaking his phone and look like an idiot. He’d rather some bad guy do that. At least then it wouldn’t be so embarassing.

“What was that?” Aunt May called out from the kitchen, Peter assumed.

“Nothing!” He called out, and jumped over to his closet, and grabbed a plain red t-shirt and jeans.  He got dressed and walked into the kitchen and grabbed himself a pop tart.

“Oh, don’t forget Halloween is in two weeks!” May said, sitting down across from Peter, holding a bowl of cereal.

“Yeah, I know.” He said, taking a bite out of his poptart.

“Do you have a costume?” May asked, and Peter shook his head, shrugging.

“Guess I haven’t had the time to.”

There was a slight pause, and a lightbulb went off in May’s head. “Oh, maybe you could wear your suit.” 

Peter almost choked.  _ “What? _ No! May, that is probably one of the  _ worst  _ ways for someone to find out my identity. I’ll talk about it with Ned today, he probably already has a whole getup for me and him.” Peter chuckled at the last part.

“Alright. Now finish your breakfast, unless you plan on getting to school late. Again.”

“Yeah, I know May.” Peter grabbed his bag. “Love you!”

“Love you too! Oh, don’t forget to be home by six! We’re having Thai!” May called out, and Peter made a muffled sound that sounded like an ‘okay’, and she heard the door close.

  
  
  
  


“Peter! I know what we should be for Halloween!” Ned said, and Peter chuckled, shutting his locker. “Oh yeah? What is it?”

They started walking down the hall to their class. “Okay so, I’m Captain America, right? Mj could be the Falcon and you could be-”

“Ned don’t you dare say Black Widow.” Peter interrupted.

Ned just stared back. _“....not_ Black Widow?”

Peter groaned. “Ned!”

“Oh come on, Peter, please!” Ned begged.

Peter fake gasped. “Don’t peer pressure me into dressing up as Black Widow for Halloween, she'd never let me live that down!” 

“Too late, he already like, ordered the costumes.” Mj said as she walked past us.

Peter turned to glare at Ned. “You-”

Ned smiled at him innocently. Peter whined

“Alright, _ fine.”  _ He caved.

“Yes!” Ned threw his arms up in victory. Peter bit back a chuckle. Oh what the hell, he couldn’t stay mad at his best friend.

They were about to turn into their homeroom when the speaker came on through the halls.

“Peter Parker, please come to the main office.” Principal Morita said over the speaker, and Ned looked at Peter, who shrugged.

“I’ll see you at class then, I guess.” Peter said, and Ned waved him off.

He arrived at the Principal’s office and froze in his tracks.

_ Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. _

Johnny turned to look at him, and he had that shit-eating smirk that made Peter want to literally punch him. “Peter, this is Johnny, he just got registered to our school, you’ll be showing him around for the day. He has your schedule, so it shouldn’t be too hard.” Morita said, and Peter held back a sigh, and nodded. “Oh, uh, okay. Yeah, I can do that.” He glared at Johnny, who’s grin just got wider.

“So, guess now you  _ have  _ to show me around.” He teased, but Peter still looked ahead.

“Not the same thing.” Peter deadpanned, walking a bit faster. “Why don’t you keep up, class is this way.”

Johnny started to say something, but stopped himself. “Aww, still bitter about bumping into me the other day?”

“Well you should’ve been looking where you were going.” Peter replied, and before the blonde could say anything more, they walked into the class a minute before the bell. Peter went to his usual spot with Ned, and a bunch of girls saw Johnny, and practically dragged him over. Peter rolled his eyes.

Ned noticed, obviously, but didn’t say anything, with the face Peter was making.

  
  
  
  


The day went by pretty normally. Except for the fact that every class they walked into either a bunch of girls, or Flash and his friend group would pull Johnny over, which isn’t a shocker, if Peter was being honest. He’s the freaking  _ Human Torch, _ so it’s no surprise everyone would be after him.

“Peter? You with me, sweetie?” May asked, and Peter blinked. “Uh, yeah. Sorry. Just thinking.”

“About?” She asked, eating some of the dinner they had in front of them.

“Uh.. well me and Mr. Stark are working on an upgraded suit. It’s uh, nano-tech and vibranium. Kinda like his new suit. I am  _ trying _ to figure out how to make the suit form in and out of the emblem, but it just won’t work! Everything I try ends up getting blown up or broken or misplaced-”

May chuckled. “Alright, easy mister. Less science talk, more eating.”

Peter smiled, and they both ate their dinner, when he heard something on the TV.

“Have you met those guys?” May asked, pointing to the tv. The Fantastic Four were on the news. Peter mentally cursed when he saw the flame on the screen.

“Yeah, they were at the tower the other day. Really cool people.”

“Great heroes too.” Peter frowned at her. “Not better than you of course! You’re still my favorite little superhero.” Peter rolled his eyes playfully.

“Keep it down May.” He whined.

“Right. Secrets, secrets. I’m sorry that I'm just so  _ proud _ of my boy and what he’s been doing. All grown up and saving people.”

“Well, it is my responsibility, so..” Peter looked down, playing with his fork.

“Ben would be so proud of you.” May said softly, and Peter smiled. 

“I know.” He whispered.

  
  
  
  
  
  


“Okay, what’s up, loser? You’ve been acting weird all day  _ and  _ yesterday. Well, weird _er.”_ Mj said, and Peter was thrown out of his trance. He and Mj were sitting at the lunch table alone. Ned had to finish an assignment with one of his teachers, so he had to stay in the classroom. Which really _ sucks.  _ Because of conversations like this one. Not that he doesn't like Mj, he just.. doesn't really like where this conversation seems to be going.

“What? Oh, no I'm fine. Just not too fond about having to show Flamebrain over there around the school. I mean, they gave him my  _ exact  _ schedule, Mj! It’s like the universe just hates  _ me _ personally.”

“Yeah, seems like it.” Mj said, and Peter gave her a look. “This day couldn’t possibly get any worse.” He mumbled to himself.

And he just  _ had  _ to say it. He always had to fucking say it.

Peter stood up to dump his tray out when his spidey sense went off. Knowing he was in the middle of his school cafeteria, he couldn’t just dodge the bullet like he usually would, so he ignored the loud ringing in his ear, and let whatever was about to happen happen. And of course, it just  _ had  _ to be Flash that bumped into him and used his foot to trip him. Peter dropped the tray in  faked shock making sure his hands broke his fall.

“Watch where you’re going, Penis!” He heard Flash chuckle, and some other kids joined in. He grunted, picking himself up. He grabbed the garbage and dropped it back on the tray and quickly threw it out, then sprinted to the bathroom, feeling all eyes on him.

He leaned over the sink, sighing. 

_ Get it together, Peter. You’re Spider-man! You can deal with some stupid teasing and some really bad nicknames. _

There was a knock on the door, which caused Peter to look over when it opened. “Uh, Peter?”

Peter sighed, banging a fist on the sink. “Oh for the love of- what do you  _ want,  _ Johnny?”

Johnny shuffled awkwardly. “I just- uh, I saw what happened.”

“Yeah, I tripped over my own goddamn feet. That’s what happened.” Peter said, too tired to deal with Johnny’s shit. “It's nothing you need to be concerned with.”

Before he has to deal with any more of Johnny Storm, he stormed— _ wow, thanks for that one, brain _ —out, sitting back down at the lunch table, and let the day drag on, ignoring the humored stares.

  
  
  
  
  
  


“How about.. this!” Peter held up a small round silver pin, with a spider symbol embedded in it. “Something like this should work.”

“Clever.” Mr Stark said. “Just have to make it strong enough to withhold the suit. I think there’s enough vibranium left to make the actual emblem. I can get started on that. In the meantime, go do.. I don’t know, whatever teens your age do nowadays.”

Peter giggled, wearing a cheeky grin.

Mr Stark’s brows raised. “No, no don’t you even think about i-”

“Okay boomer!” Peter yelled as he ran out of the lab, hearing Mr Stark’s loud exasperated sigh.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Peter was sitting in the living area finishing up some homework when he heard footsteps. He turned around to see the one and only,

“Johnny.” Peter said, closing the book.

“Peter." Johnny replied, hands being shoved into his pockets. "Look, I know you don’t like me but I just- I can’t stop thinking about the thing with Flash in the cafeteria.” Peter continued to do his work.

“Meaning?” He asked, not looking up from his papers.

Johnny rolled his eyes. “Meaning Flash was a dick and he pushed you. Literally everyone saw him do it, Peter.”

Peter shrugged. “And? Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“That’s not- you mean to tell me you just  _ let  _ him do that to you?”

“Yeah.” Peter deadpanned. “I do. Because it doesn’t bother me.”

Apparently, that set Johnny off. “Well it bothers  _ me!”  _

_ “Why, _ Johnny?!” Peter yelled, which caused Johnny to flinch.  _ “Why _ do you care so much? We’re not even friends! _ Okay?! _ So stop acting like we are!” 

Johnny frowned, and for a second, Peter thought he saw a flash of hurt cross his eyes.

“Glad to know where we stand.” Johnny said bitterly, and Peter felt his stomach twist. He shook his head, and Johnny stomped off, and Peter didn’t need superpowers to know that Johnny was pissed.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Johnny was pissed.

At first, when Peter had first bumped into him, Johnny was mad because  _ this asshole really had the nerve to bump into him? _ But really, the dude was right. Johnny was busy staring at his phone the whole time, so it was kind of inevitable that he would end up running into  _ someone.  _

And then Sue told him he wasn’t going to be home-schooled anymore. Johnny had been pretty excited about that. Long story short, Sue had actually found him a good school not far from the Baxter Building and enrolled him. Little did Johnny know that it was  _ his  _ school, and  _ he  _ was supposed to be Johnny’s escort for the day. But if Johnny was being honest, he really didn’t mind Peter  _ that  _ much. It’s not like he despised the guy. He just liked to tease him. Y’know, thanks to the first impression and all. Fun quips. The first day had gone pretty well, considering.

And then the cafeteria incident. Johnny had been sitting at a table surrounded by Flash’s friends that had literally dragged him over. Now, don’t get him wrong, Johnny  _ loved  _ the attention. He just didn’t feel like sitting with people that only wanted to be friends with him because he was a superhero. He was busy trying to pry one girl off of his shoulder when he heard a tray fall. He turned to see Peter stumble to the ground. “Watch where you’re going, Penis!”

Okay, first of all: what the  _ fuck, _ Flash? And two, Johnny seriously would’ve gone over to help Peter pick up his trash—seriously, he  _ would  _ have—if these  _ girls  _ would just stop  _ pestering  _ him. Flash had sat back down, snickering, and Johnny glared at him. “What the hell was that for?”

Flash looked confused. “What? It was funny.”

Johnny scoffed. “No, it really wasn’t. You just embarrassed him in front of the whole cafeteria."

“It’s just a joke, man.” Flash shrugged, and Johnny frowned, before getting up from the table. “Well, it was a bad one.”

Johnny had finally gotten away and followed Peter to the bathroom. But after hearing Peter’s response, that just made Johnny feel worse . How long had Peter been stuck with Flash’s bullshit? Why wasn’t it a bigger deal to him? Why is  _ he  _ such a jerk to Johnny? So many questions. Johnny would talk to Peter after school.

_ Very _ bad idea.

Now, Johnny was sulking in the living area of the Stark Tower, after storming out after Peter’s little outburst. Sure, they weren’t exactly  _ friends _ but that doesn’t mean Johnny can’t  _ worry!  _ Peter’s just a stubborn little a-

“Alright Johnny, talk. What happened.” He heard Sue ask—no, not ask. More like demanded—and he craned his neck to look at her.

“What? Why do you assume something happened? Maybe nothing happened!” Johnny suggested, but his sister wasn’t convinced.

She gave him a blank stare. “You’re sulking. That’s your sulking face. Now tell your big sis what the problem is.”

Johnny groaned. “It’s Parker!”

Sue frowned. “Stark’s intern? What about him? He seems like a nice boy.”

“No, he’s an asshole!” Johnny pouted.

Sue raised a brow. “Well to  _ me  _ he is!”

Sue sighed. “Have I ever told you that you are oh so unbearably stubborn?”

“Yeah, just a few hours ago, actually.” Sue frowned at him. “Look, i’m fine! Parker made his point very clear that we are not friends, okay? So just lay off.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I’m gonna go get some air.”

“Okay.” Sue said, staring at her little brother softly. “Just don’t be out too late.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Johnny shrugged, and with a quick ‘flame on!’, he was out the window.

  
  
  
  
  
  


Peter sat on top of the Statue of Liberty, overlooking the city below him. He had just finished patrol and was sitting on the flame, watching the sun set in the distance. He heard a whoosh from behind him, and assumed it was Mr. Stark.

Boy, was he wrong.

“Fancy meeting you here, Spidey.” Johnny Storm said, flaming off as he went over to sit by the vigilante.

“I’d love to say the same.” Peter deadpanned. “But there’s nothing fancy about it.”

“Hilarious.” Johnny said, kicking his feet. “Very funny, Spidey.”

The two heroes sat in a very awkward silence, and Peter was growing very agitated.

Probably because Johnny was making very agitating noises.

“Would you stop that?” Peter snapped, and the blonde flinched slightly, before frowning.

“Well gee, sorry. It’s not my fault you have sensitive ears.”

Peter scoffed, turning his head away. After he and Johnny’s little mini-fight in the Tower, Peter really wasn’t too happy about having to sit inches away from him. Peter couldn’t even watch a stupid  _ sunset  _ without running into the guy!

He heard Johnny sigh, and Peter snapped his head toward the blonde, but whatever remark he was about to say was forgotten once he saw the look on Johnny’s face.

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. “Hey, you okay?”

Johnny chuckled dryly, and it gave Peter a weird feeling in his stomach. He smirked at Peter, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Course. Why the hell wouldn’t I be?”

Peter stared at him, his lenses squinting. “What, do you take me for an idiot, Storm? I know what faking a smile looks like, I do it all the time.”

The blonde sighed again and stared down at his dangling legs, slapping his hands on his thighs.

“The universe hates me. What more is there to say?”

Peter gulped. Whatever anger he felt for the guy was now replaced with guilt. “You uh.. you wanna talk about it?”

Johnny finally looked up at him, his eyes glossy. His mouth opened, then closed. He did this again a few more times before he could get any words out.

“Well, see there’s this guy. At- at my school.” Oh,  _ here  _ we go. “And the thing is, he’s a nerd. And- I don’t know, he’s a jerk!”

Peter bit back a gasp. He was  _ not!  _ “But.. he’s only a jerk to  _ me.  _ Which is weird, because- well, everyone loves me!”

“Well, you  _ are  _ the Human Torch.” Peter said sarcastically.

“Exactly! But here’s the thing- there’s this other guy who is also a jerk, but like- to everyone.”  _ Probably Flash, _ Peter guessed. “And- well I thought he was cool until he tripped the nerd in the middle of the cafeteria!” Peter winced at the memory.

“What did you do?” Peter forced himself to say.

“Well, I saw the guy run to the bathroom, and we already knew each other because he was my escort around the school for the first day,  _ and  _ he interns for Stark. Which is shocking, because I’m pretty sure Stark wasn’t letting highschoolers apply, but this Parker kid is like, really smart though, so-”

“Johnny.” Peter stopped him, ignoring the compliment. “Focus.”

“Right, yeah. So anyway, I went to check on him, because I’m a nice guy and I felt bad-” Oh,  _ you  _ felt bad?! “-and he snapped at me. Said that it didn’t bother him, and then I asked him  _ why,  _ and he asked me why I cared so much because we’re not friends. Like, I  _ know  _ we’re not friends, I  _ know  _ what friends are. I haven’t even made a  _ single  _ friend since I got enrolled in that school.”

Peter let himself chuckle dryly. Johnny sat with Flash and his goons since the  _ first day,  _ what does he mean he hasn’t made friends? “But you’re _Johnny Storm_ _ , _ surely you’ve probably made  _ tons  _ of friends.”

“Not real ones.” Johnny frowned, looking over at the setting sun in the distance. “Yeah, I sat with a bunch of popular kids there, but they pretty much dragged  _ me _ over to sit with  _ them. _ Which, yeah. It felt nice to not sit alone the first day, but they weren’t my _ friends. _ They, they just-”

“They wanted to look cool in front of everyone so they dragged you over to sit with them.” Peter realized.

Johnny nodded slowly. “Yeah.” 

They sat in another awkward silence, which left Peter to his thoughts. He  _ had  _ been a jerk to Johnny. Was Peter really still hung up on Johnny bumping into him in the tower? Or was he just jealous- No. no, he is  _ not  _ jealous. _No_ way.

Then again, he’s been a superhero for longer than the F4, and yet they all get called heroes, and he’s still just a masked vigilante.

And the bathroom incident? Johnny  _ was  _ right. He was right to see if Peter was okay, and he snapped at him. He  _ snapped  _ at him for wanting to see if he was  _ okay.  _ Peter really  _ was  _ an asshole!

Peter let out a long breath, which led the blonde to look over at him.

“Maybe-” Peter started. “Maybe he thought he had a reason to be a jerk to you. Even if it wasn’t right, maybe at the time- maybe he thought it was.”

Johnny blinked. “Huh. Y’know for a menace, you’ve got pretty good life advice.”

Peter glared at him. “Sorry, sorry, yeah. I mean- for the record, I don’t think you’re a menace. It’s-”

“It’s mainly the Daily Bugle, yeah believe me, I know. I have their notifications on." Peter said. "Also, would it  _ kill  _ them to actually spell my name right? Spider  _ hyphen  _ Man! There’s a hyphen! They  _ always  _ forget the hyphen!”

Johnny raised a humored brow. “I didn’t think you’d be so aggressive over a misspelling of your name.”

“It’s my trademark! My trademark hyphen!”

“Actually, I think your trademark is the spider-”

“-it’s the _hyphen!”_

Both boys chuckled, and Peter actually forgot why he had been angry in the first place. Johnny is actually pretty good company. He’d never admit it out loud, though.

“I should probably get going.” Peter stood up on his feet. “It’s late, y’know? Superheroes have a bedtime too.”

Johnny nodded, following Peter’s lead. “Yeah, I should get going too. Sue  _ actually  _ has a limit to how long I stay out for. She’s a pretty overprotective sister.”

Peter nodded and watched as Johnny flamed on. Okay, Peter has to admit, that is pretty cool.

“Hey, Torch!” Johnny turned around. “Yeah?”

“I’m sure you and that Parker guy probably didn’t start off on the right foot, so talk to him. Make a  _ real  _ friend.”

He couldn’t tell from the fire, but Peter was sure he saw Johnny smile.

“Will do.” Johnny said, and flew off, and left Peter alone on Lady Liberty.

Okay, guess Ned was right. The Human torch isn’t so bad after all.


End file.
